bosoxbabe, welcome to the Fish Pond. I have Vista and download via Firefox. Have not had any trouble, including Moonlight Sonata. My first thought was that you were talking about the Build-A-Lot original game, not 2 or 3, and that it wasn't Vista compatible. But I checked the game and it is Vista compatible.
...I recommend you run and save your dxdiag file. Then email Tech Support and attach the file. Perhaps they can determine why your game isn't working correctly. Make sure you describe exactly what happens when you try to play the game. Good Luck